Hitomi Launches
Explanation:
On
February 17
at 5:45pm JST this
H-IIA
rocket blasted skyward from JAXA's
Tanegashima
Space Center located off the southern coast of Japan, planet Earth.
Onboard was the ASTRO-H X-ray astronomy satellite, now in orbit.
Designed to explore
the extreme cosmos from black holes to
massive galaxy clusters, the satellite observatory is equipped with
four cutting-edge X-ray telescopes and instruments sensitive to photon
energies from 300 to 600,000 electron volts.
By comparison, visible light photon energies
are 2 to 3 electron volts.
Following a tradition of renaming satellites after their successful
launch, ASTRO-H has been newly dubbed "Hitomi",
inspired by an ancient
legend
of dragons.
Hitomi means "the pupil of the eye".
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
